Olive oil ice cream

What I like about this recipe: although it’s made without using an ice cream machine, it’s not going to turn into a rock solid block of ice (unlike many failed experiments I’ve made…)

Usually when it comes to ice creams made without an ice cream maker, the recipe has to be richer (using heavy cream) to get smoother results. It’s a way to avoid the “ice block” consistency. This recipe doesn’t use any dairy but 1 tbsp of olive oil and 3 egg yolks for fat content.

But how to achieve creaminess over “iciness”? It’s all about air and fluffiness. This ice cream doesn’t taste as “luscious” as regular ice cream, but feels light/moussy instead of rich/cloying.

Ingredients:

I would not recommend replacing the tablespoon of sucanat with a sweetener: the sugar decreases the freezing point of the overall mixture so that big ice crystals (responsible for the ice block consistency) are less likely to form. Sugar also helps beating and creaming the yolks. I’m not sure that you would obtain the same result using stevia.

I use an Italian extra virgin olive oil with a strong olive taste because I don’t mind its strong flavor, but a more ‘neutral’ kind of oil would certainly work too.

The mixture should start thickening, doubling volume and turning a bit creamy, kind of like a homemade mayonnaise. We’re actually using the same “concept”/chemical reaction as when making mayonnaise: beating oil into egg until an emulsion forms — that is, the oil molecules are uniformly dispersed in the egg and then hold there. Adding a teaspoon of water (or in this case orange blossom water or vanilla extract) to the yolks before dripping in the oil helps create a stronger and more stable emulsion.

Whip egg whites (with a pinch of salt) into stiff peaks.

Fold egg whites into egg yolk mixture.

Freeze overnight. This ice cream doesn’t turn into a block of ice and should be easy to scoop out.

Comments

Yes! Use a vegetable oil with a neutral taste in place of olive oil and replace the orange blossom water with any food flavoring of your choice (almond, orange, rum or coconut flavorings for example) mixed with a tbsp of water. Or use a flavourful oil (walnut or hazelnut oil) and replace the orange blossom water with a tbsp of cold espresso for a frapuccino ice cream!

But of course no way I was going to publish a recipe using heavy cream on my blog!” But you’ll post a recipe for frozen mayonnaise and call it ice cream? This isn’t “like” mayonnaise. This IS mayonnaise. I think you are misleading your readers, and I’m disappointed.

You raised a good point, but I think my recipe is not misleading: there is a big difference between the saturated fat of heavy cream and monounsaturated fat of the olive oil. Olive oil is very healthy, and I’m using 1 tablespoon only: http://www.healingdaily.com/detoxification-diet/olive-oil.htm Hope you understand my point of view!

I mean incorporating the beaten whites into the other ingredients carefully without compromising the airiness of the egg whites. After you’ve done this, put the mixture in the freezer for at least 4 hours or overnight.

This is healthy ice cream. Going to give this a shot. I love the ingredients you have included, especially the use of olive oil which has mono saturated fats (as you pointed out). Didn’t know that it’s possible to make ice cream this way. I’m glad I stumbled on this.